Conti QC

[vaxn8r]

I just purchased my first set of Conti road tires in about 5 years. 25c GP4000's. So on my first ride I feel this rear end wobble. Pretty marked. I'm thinking my wheel is whacked. I got off and checked it and no brake rub, maybe needing a smidge of truing. Get home, spin the wheel in my hands and there is a huge hop in the tire. Put it in a truing stand. It's the tire. I've never seen anything quite that off before. There was about a 1.5 cm bulge in one sector of the tire. Anyone had this happen?

[regularguy412]

Hmm, nope, but I've seen plenny of problems with previous iterations of Conti clinchers on friends' bikes. Therefore, I've never used 'em -- only ridden the Conti tubulars. Absolutely no problems with those. I used to ride Michelins exclusively, but they are a bit pricey for my pocketbook these days. I also used to ride Hutchinson clinchers, but they seem to have some reliability issues now.

I've had good luck with Vred Fortezza SE 23s. They inflate to about the equivalent of 25s when mounted on Open Pro rims. No flats and they wear like iron. Good adhesion in the corners ( due to dual compound tread ) and they can be found pretty inexpensively at approx. $24 each. I have a front tire that has well over 3,000 miles on it with no flats. I retired the original rear to the trainer bike since it had a small (one!) tread cut. It never flatted, though, and still hasn't gotten any worse. A surprise bonus is that they roll _GREAT_, which I didn't expect from such an inexpensive tire.

Mike in AR

[Len J]

Hmm, nope, but I've seen plenny of problems with previous iterations of Conti clinchers on friends' bikes. Therefore, I've never used 'em -- only ridden the Conti tubulars. Absolutely no problems with those. I used to ride Michelins exclusively, but they are a bit pricey for my pocketbook these days. I also used to ride Hutchinson clinchers, but they seem to have some reliability issues now.

I've had good luck with Vred Fortezza SE 23s. They inflate to about the equivalent of 25s when mounted on Open Pro rims. No flats and they wear like iron. Good adhesion in the corners ( due to dual compound tread ) and they can be found pretty inexpensively at approx. $24 each. I have a front tire that has well over 3,000 miles on it with no flats. I retired the original rear to the trainer bike since it had a small (one!) tread cut. It never flatted, though, and still hasn't gotten any worse. A surprise bonus is that they roll _GREAT_, which I didn't expect from such an inexpensive tire.

Mike in AR

a MFG defect.......I'd take it back to the LBS...I'd suspect it will be replaced free of charge.

I have never had a set of conti tires that didn't get sidewall cuts.....never.......everytime I talk myself into trying them (because so many people love them) again, I end up regretting it. Now, I wouldn't spend my ex-wife's money on a set of conti's.

Obviously YMMV

Len

[regularguy412]

a MFG defect.......I'd take it back to the LBS...I'd suspect it will be replaced free of charge.

I have never had a set of conti tires that didn't get sidewall cuts.....never.......everytime I talk myself into trying them (because so many people love them) again, I end up regretting it. Now, I wouldn't spend my ex-wife's money on a set of conti's.

Obviously YMMV

Len

Precisely !

Mike in AR

[DarrenCT]

all i've ridden is conty's however im noticing my quality issues. tears and rips in the sidewall for example. sometimes the thread pulls and you have to cut it off.

no more conts for me. i'll try these deda rs corsa tires as soon as i burn out the gp4000's on now....

[dvs cycles]

I just purchased my first set of Conti road tires in about 5 years. 25c GP4000's. So on my first ride I feel this rear end wobble. Pretty marked. I'm thinking my wheel is whacked. I got off and checked it and no brake rub, maybe needing a smidge of truing. Get home, spin the wheel in my hands and there is a huge hop in the tire. Put it in a truing stand. It's the tire. I've never seen anything quite that off before. There was about a 1.5 cm bulge in one sector of the tire. Anyone had this happen?I've worn out over a dozen 4000's since they have came out and have never seen any defects. Used 3000's before that no problems and GP's again no problems. You got THE bad one.

[Big Dan]

Haven't had any problems with Continental Gatorskins this year.

Over 5K, have them on 4 bikes.

:beer:

[Avispa]

all i've ridden is conty's however im noticing my quality issues. tears and rips in the sidewall for example. sometimes the thread pulls and you have to cut it off.

no more conts for me. i'll try these deda rs corsa tires as soon as i burn out the gp4000's on now....

Where in the world are you guys riding with these tires! I have been using Conti's for some time (again), and have had no problems at all! :) :) :)

I have the Conti GP 4000, the Conti GP 4000s, and later for the MeiVici with Campy Hyperon, the Conti GP Supersonic. Even with these "flimsy" race clinchers, I have had no problem... Sure the glass/crap ridden roads where I ride are no help, when getting an occasional flat (one or twice in a year), but when I used Veloflex, it was a flat always weekly!!! So, at least one trade offs was, suppleness for durability.

I'd like to point out that the tires I have have the Vectran and/or the new Chili Compound, which I think makes a world of difference.

..A..

PS

Vax, where did you buy the tires? Most places will see this as a warranty issue and surely will exchange the tire for a new one or give you something else!

[DarrenCT]

the new S tire is better, but the older 4000's seem to get "pulls" in the sidewall. actually, the 3000's seem better to me than the 4's...

i'll try to take a pic of one of the "pulls"

[toaster]

A rear mounted Conti Ultra Sport after many miles and nearing the end of it's service life had a bump and a "S" bend in the tire. It was the near the start of a group ride and I was able to change to a new tire. It would not have lasted more than 10 miles in that condition.

They were a bargain and I'm still using the brand and model on one bike. You are reminded by these things to check you tires before every ride.

[vaxn8r]

Vax, where did you buy the tires? Most places will see this as a warranty issue and surely will exchange the tire for a new one or give you something else!
No worries, my LBS changed the tire out, remounted and retrued the wheel, all for no charge. What can I say, they like me.

You are reminded by these things to check you tires before every ride.
Yes, That's what I thought I did by changing out to a brand new tire. Very good advice though!

[labratmatt]

I have never had a set of conti tires that didn't get sidewall cuts.....never.......everytime I talk myself into trying them (because so many people love them) again, I end up regretting it. Now, I wouldn't spend my ex-wife's money on a set of conti's.

This describes my experience perfectly. I went through a string of Conti's that had sidewall blowouts/cuts (issues I don't experience with other tires). I went through three tires before I swore them off.

[labratmatt]

Oh, and if you want to switch from Conti's, I've had good experiences with the lower end Michelin training tires. I've put many, many miles on three different Michelin Speedium tires in the past year with only minor issues.

[pedalcr8z]

Highly unusual and I work at a bike shop...........simple defect, just return and exchange. Conti make great tires don't let this experience sway you.

[chrisroph]

vax--did you mount them yourself? shame on somebody for not spinning the tire to make sure the beads were seated properly before mounting the wheel.

i've used lots of contis and have never had a manuf defect or a sidewall problem but that's just me.

[dvs cycles]

I have never had a set of conti tires that didn't get sidewall cuts.....never.......everytime I talk myself into trying them (because so many people love them) again, I end up regretting it.
Side wall cuts went away for me when the GP was superceded by the GP-3000 and now the GP-4000. Most people in the clubs I ride with that share your opinion when I quiz them have not tried the newer tires and still base their opinion on the old GP. Not saying that you haven't but that is what I have encountered.
If you've tried the GP-4000's and still haven't had anything but bad luck then I guess road conditions must just be really bad where you ride. :crap:
I'm 190# and ride agressively in group rides where stuff is seldom pointed out in time.
The Gatorskins in 28c that came on our tandem have almost 2000 miles and still have some life left and have been bullet-proof. :D

[Len J]

Side wall cuts went away for me when the GP was superceded by the GP-3000 and now the GP-4000. Most people in the clubs I ride with that share your opinion when I quiz them have not tried the newer tires and still base their opinion on the old GP. Not saying that you haven't but that is what I have encountered.
If you've tried the GP-4000's and still haven't had anything but bad luck then I guess road conditions must just be really bad where you ride. :crap:
I'm 190# and ride agressively in group rides where stuff is seldom pointed out in time.
The Gatorskins in 28c that came on our tandem have almost 2000 miles and still have some life left and have been bullet-proof. :D

I've tried 3000's & 4000's......both continue to have the same problems.

As to the roads........it's funny that all other tires I use don't have the problems with sidewall cuts on the same roads.........must be an anomoly.

Gatorskins.....they are a little different....I thought we were talking racing tires.

Glad they work for you........

Len

[dvs cycles]

I've tried 3000's & 4000's......both continue to have the same problems.

As to the roads........it's funny that all other tires I use don't have the problems with sidewall cuts on the same roads.........must be an anomoly.

Gatorskins.....they are a little different....I thought we were talking racing tires.

Glad they work for you........

Len
I thought we were talking Continentals. :beer:
So what DO you use?
Everyone schreds a side wall now and then, even me. :D
My friends that ride Michelins have just as many side wall issues as Conti but lots more tread cuts.
So I guess it all comes down to environment that you ride in?

[Fixed]

bro i had new set of dutch tires i went on a draw bridge and the metal grid cut the threads and made a blister... into the can it went
cheers

[Len J]

I thought we were talking Continentals. :beer:
So what DO you use?
Everyone schreds a side wall now and then, even me. :D
My friends that ride Michelins have just as many side wall issues as Conti but lots more tread cuts.
So I guess it all comes down to environment that you ride in?

Michelin ProRace...never had a side wall cut & very few tread cuts.

Roads here are 85% chip & seal.

Len

[justinf]

I have a Conti Competition "black chili" on the bike right now that has a noticeable lump in the tire, right at the stem. Had my mechanic check it out to verify that I didn't glue it badly. It's just made defectively.

[dvs cycles]

Michelin ProRace...never had a side wall cut & very few tread cuts.

Roads here are 85% chip & seal.

LenMichelin vs Conti in all the groups I ride with are as I stated above. Maybe it's an East vs West thing. :D
We have probably the best roads in the US in OC California. Lots of bike lanes and smooth asphalt. Most of our cuts come from road debris, the occasional rock and broken beer bottles from A-hole kids partying. :crap:
Next debate Toyota vs Honda. :D

[vaxn8r]

vax--did you mount them yourself? shame on somebody for not spinning the tire to make sure the beads were seated properly before mounting the wheel.

i've used lots of contis and have never had a manuf defect or a sidewall problem but that's just me.
Naw, I mounted it myself. The tire was seated fine, that wasn't the problem. It just had a huge bulge in one particular section of the tire. I suspect the tire in question was missing some of the fabric threads in the carcass causing it to bulge when inflated.

[Blue Jays]

"...I have been using Conti's for some time (again), and have had no problems at all! :) I have the Conti GP 4000, the Conti GP 4000s, and later for the MeiVici with Campy Hyperon, the Conti GP Supersonic..."Avispa, this is similar to my experience. I'm currently running the Continental GP 4000s on Campagnolo Hyperon Ultra clinchers with good, predictable performance on two different bikes. The difference between the GP 4000 and GP 4000s is splitting hairs, I suppose where one will notice it is with service longevity.

My local LBS favors Continental and I prefer to give him my business. He will also be stocking Vredstein and Michelin in the coming months, so I'll revisit those tires again, too. All said, the Continentals have been just fine for me and I'm inclined to think it has more to do with amount of road debris and pavement issues.